Best Samsung Laptops in 2019

Here at Windows Central we test and review a lot of laptop for a lot of different manufacturers, including Samsung. If you're interested in what's on offer from the South Korean tech giant, we've rounded up the best laptops available now.

Who should buy this laptop

Not everyone needs a laptop with touch display, convertible design, or the hardware inside for heavy gaming. The Notebook 9 13 sticks with a traditional clamshell design and FHD display, and that's perfectly OK for most people.

Is it a good time to buy this laptop?

The Samsung Notebook 9 13 is using 8th Gen Intel Core i5 and i7 processors (CPU) and is fully compatible with Windows 10. These laptops generally retain their value even when a new version is announced, so you won't likely save much by waiting for a new refresh cycle.

Reasons to buy

Outstanding build quality

Speedy solid-state drive (SSD)

Beautiful FHD display with accurate color reproduction

Fingerprint reader for Windows Hello

Weighs just over two pounds

Reasons not to buy

No convertible design

No discrete GPU

Cheaper options available

The Samsung Notebook 9 13 is perfect for anyone who needs a traditional laptop

The 1080p display lives up to the Samsung standard when it comes to screens, and this thing is beautiful. It's bright enough to use outside, and the colors and contrast are just about perfect, so you can use it inside as well.

The 13-inch Notebook 9 has the right mix of performance and design that most people can appeciate.

Coming in at 2.2 pounds (0.99 kg) and 0.59 inches (1.49 cm) thick, the Notebook 9 is sleek without compromising performance. You can get up to an 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U CPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 256GB SSD. This laptop will get you through a solid work day without breaking a sweat, and the beefy battery means you won't waste time looking for an outlet.

The backlit keyboard's keys are spaced so that they're comfortable even after hours of typing, and the Precision touchpad offers full gesture support. The durable aluminum body won't show wear from normal use, and it has the ports you use most, including USB-C, HDMI, USB-A 3.0, and a microSD card reader. A fingerprint reader makes this laptop compatible with Windows Hello.

Alternatives to the Samsung Notebook 9 13

Samsung makes a lot of great laptops, so if you prefer a device that separates itself from a standard clamshell notebook, or you'd like a notebook with a larger display, you can find some quality alternatives.

With the Notebook 9 15, you can get up to an 8th Gen Core i7 CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1TB PCIe SSD, and an NVIDIA GeForce MX150 dedicated graphics card (GPU) for extra performance when gaming or editing. The 75 Wh battery gives about 10 hours of real-life usage time, there's a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello, and there are plenty of ports for connecting your accessories and peripherals.

The 12-inch sAMOLED touch display on the Galaxy Book2 is stunning with its 2160x1440 resolution, and it's compatible with an S Pen for a quality inking experience. A kickstand on the back props up the tablet and an attachable keyboard is included, and the battery life should go for about 12 hours. Ports include two USB-C and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

The 15.6-inch Odyssey Z has a 1080p display with great color, and despite all the hardware inside, the chassis is just 0.70 inches thick. The silver exterior is accented with a red keyboard backlight, and there are plenty of ports — including HDMI, USB-C, two USB-A 3.0, one USB-A 2.0, and Ethernet — for all your accessories.

Best budget

The Notebook Flash is kind of experimental, coming at you with a textured body and 13.3-inch 1080p display. If you're looking for something cheap that doesn't need to work too hard, this is a great option.

Get inside either an Intel Celeron N4000 or Pentium N5000 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage, altogether suitable for light tasks. You get a good selection of ports, including HDMI, USB-C, USB-A 3.0, USB-A 2.0, and a microSD card reader, and there's a fingerprint reader for a bit of extra security.

Bottom line

Samsung has a lineup of stellar laptops, including the 13-inch Notebook 9 that's no doubt the best option for most people.

It's thin, it's light, it has the performance and battery to get through a standard day of work, and the FHD display has near-perfect color reproduction and contrast. There are certainly other options from Samsung for anyone who needs something a bit different, but it's hard to beat the classic notebook.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Cale Hunt is a full-time writer for Windows Central, focusing mainly on PC hardware and VR. He is an avid PC gamer and multi-platform user, and when he has some free time you can usually find him practicing guitar or reorganizing his ever-growing library. If you hear him say "Sorry!" it's only because he's Canadian.

Daniel Rubino is executive editor of Windows Central. He has been covering Microsoft since 2009 back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Surface, HoloLens, Xbox, and future computing visions. Follow him on Twitter: @daniel_rubino.